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Vermin Should be Gone for All Star Game

Editor’s Note: As Major League Baseball presents the 81st All Star Game tonight, Food Safety News continues its periodic look at food safety in major league ballparks.

Today’s ballpark: Angel Stadium at Anaheim, Los Angeles Angels

Why Now: Tonight Colorado Rockies right hander Ubaldo Jimenez, the first pitcher in a decade to win 15 games before the All-Star Game, will give the National League the best chance its had to win the summer classic since home field advantage in the World Series has gone with the victory.

Jimenez will face-off against Tampa Bay’s 12-game winner David Price who goes to the mound first for the American League.

And while the AL had been on a winning streak of late, the NL still leads the AL, 40-to-38 with two ties.

Recent Inspections: Orange County food inspectors were at Angel Stadium as recently as the last week of June.

Violations: Angel Stadium came in for some bad publicity three years when it encountered a “vermin infestation.” Therefore it is not surprising that Orange County’s food inspectors are on the lookout for vermin–and they found some just last Tuesday (June 29) in a couple of View Level (428 and 429V) concession areas.

But those critters were taken out, and the over all inspection record for the 45-year-old Angel Stadium is not really that bad. It encompasses 70 food and beverage establishments, including such nationally known restaurants as California Pizza Kitchen, Hooter’s, Carl’s Jr. and Panda Express.

Since the beginning of the 2010 baseball season, which has seen the Angels playing second fiddle to the Texas Rangers in the AL West, Orange County’s food inspectors have gone to bat at the stadium on multiple inspection and re-inspection dates. Under California’s inspection system, it had found many blue violations. Many of those are fixed on the spot.

In reviewing this year’s inspections, Food Safety News found about a dozen red or critical violations. Those included equipment failures (failure to keep hot food hot or cold food cold); Improper sanitization, cross-contamination, no hot water or no water, period, and adulterated food (including some that had to be destroyed.)

What Los Angles likes: The “Big A” got a $100 million facelift in the late 90s, and gained some innovative management with Arturo Moreno. Angel fans often talk about the BBQ Pork sandwiches and Italian sausage hotdogs. In addition to some of the corporate names listed above, Angel Stadium features such local fare as Clyde Wright BBQ and Diablo’s BBQ, and Angelito’s Fresh Mexican Grill, just to name a few.